Vehicle Testing At Hard Working Trucks: How we do it
Every year there’re new pickups and SUVs rolling into dealers, each model massaged in some form or another with the latest in technology or features.
Some new trucks have minor changes and others major. It varies year-to-year, manufacturer-to-manufacturer, model-to-model.
We tested this Ram 3500HD by towing a Case mini-excavator for 200 miles from dealership to jobsite and back.The HWT staff keeps on top of them by attending the press ride-and-drive events and, when major changes take place, we get trucks from the manufacturers to test on our own.
How do we test them? We get test trucks for a week. During that time we put them through some of the same types of use you do, along with doing instrumented testing to record data on the performance side.
We run fuel numbers along a set route at a set speed. We use the same station and fuel pump for fill-ups.
We take them to the dragstrip (weather permitting.) We tow with them. We haul loads in their beds. We make forays off-pavement. We take notes. Lots of notes. Then we drive some more.
At the end of our week we typically log about 500 miles in a test truck. Vehicle testing is tedious at times, but always a learning experience.
